Baddeck campground groundskeeper ‘made it into a warm place’

Laurel Sampson and her children, Chris and Tara, unveil a new sign on the Bras d’Or Lakes Campground clubhouse, which was renamed in honour of Sampson’s husband Pat, who was groundskeeper at the Baddeck vacation spot. (ERIN POTTIE / Cape Breton Bureau)

BADDECK — A Baddeck campground clubhouse has been dedicated to a beloved groundskeeper.

Having manicured the grass and painted the fences at the Bras d’Or Lakes Campground for 10 years, Pat Sampson died July 2 after having a heart attack while staying at the campground. He was 67.

His sudden passing came as a shock to campground owners John and Betty Finnegan, who purchased the property 14 years ago.

The couple, who have been married for 52 years, say the New Waterford man was more than just an employee — he was a member of the family.

“He accessorized this place. He took it from being a nice, sterile-looking campground and made it into a warm place,” said John Finnegan, a retired business lawyer from Boston. “The first comment we get from people when they come in the driveway and come down to the office, they say ‘This is a beautiful campground,’ and that’s in large part thanks to him.”

Together, Finnegan and Sampson could often be seen sitting in their green plastic “thinking” chairs, where they often talked about life’s philosophies.

“He was just a pleasure to be around, there’s no two ways about it. A long time ago, we stopped thinking of him as an employee. “(He was) unusually congenial and affable, was what we’d call in the States a ‘Steady Eddie,’ you know what I mean? He was a just a very unique guy and became a very close friend.”

The night before his passing, John Finnegan said he discussed bonfires and s’mores with his dear friend.

“We had planned the night before we were going to have our first official fire together. We’d sit around and we’d get s’mores,” said Finnegan. “And he was gone. That’s it — there’s a lesson there.”

All around the campground, visitors can see Sampson’s “personal touches” from his hand-carved family of wooden ducks to remind drivers to slow down to the perfectly manicured shrubs that he trimmed with precision.

But nowhere is his presence felt more than at the clubhouse, where he brewed fresh coffee each day for the campers and stocked supplies before opening the office.

And so on Sunday, with books and board games stashed nearby, Sampson’s family gathered for a few fiddle tunes in his memory. After a few remarks were made, a new sign was unveiled to rename the clubhouse in his honour.

Heather Sampson, his daughter-in-law, said the dedication was a fitting tribute to Pat, who was a “man of few words” and took pride in his work.

“He loved it here,” she said. “I know it changed his life very much for the better when he came to work here.”